Samuel H Kress Foundation
ActiveArts, Culture & HumanitiesFunds Individuals
About Samuel H Kress Foundation
The Samuel H. Kress Foundation concentrates its giving on art conservation and training, channeling support through academic institutions. In the reported data all funds were awarded as conservation fellowships at New York University, indicating a preference for funding professional training and research in the preservation of visual arts.
Focus Areas
Art conservation fellowships and training programsAcademic partnerships to support conservation research (university museums)Professional development for conservators and preservation specialistsMuseum collections care and technical art history initiatives
Who They Fund
individual fellows (researchers, conservators, interpreters)institutions (museums, universities, cultural heritage organizations)art historians and conservation professionals
Giving Approach
Highly concentrated giving: a small number of relatively large grants directed to a single repeat grantee (NYU) focused on fellowship/support for conservation work.
About Samuel H Kress Foundation
Two-year research appointments and advanced conservation fellowships define the Samuel H Kress Foundation’s recent grantmaking. The foundation channels substantial support into art conservation and the history of art, with a clear emphasis on training, scholarly research, and institutional settings that can host fellows and projects. In the recent grants list, New York University received $275,000 in both 2023 and 2024 for Conservation Fellowships, while the Foundation for Advancement in Conservation received $230,000 in both years for the same program. That pattern points to repeat support for structured fellowship pipelines rather than one-off project awards. Other awards extend the same approach into art history and digital scholarship, including support for European research placements and museum-based partnerships. The foundation also funds individuals, and its active programs include both fellowship lines and competitive grants, which together show a mix of professional development and research support. Grants appear across universities, museums, and conservation organizations, with a strong concentration in institutions able to train specialists or advance scholarship in art conservation and European art history.
What Samuel H Kress Foundation Funds
In conservation training, the Samuel H Kress Foundation awarded $275,000 to New York University for Conservation Fellowships and $230,000 to the Foundation for Advancement in Conservation for the same program. The foundation also supports post-graduate supervised training through Kress Conservation Fellowships, which are awarded to museums or conservation facilities. In art history research, Yale University received $90,000 for History of Art Grants, and Middlebury College received $55,000 for the same grant category. These awards align with the foundation’s support for scholarly projects on European art and architecture. Digital methods also appear in the grant record. The Smithsonian Institution received $68,400 for Digital Art History Grants, while Pharos the International Photo Archives Association received $50,000 for the same category. Related support went to Smarthistory for digital art history work.
How Samuel H Kress Foundation Gives
Typical grant size sits at $6,000 at the 25th percentile, $16,500 at the median, and $30,000 at the 75th percentile, showing a broad spread between fellowship-scale awards and smaller project grants. The recent record includes repeated awards to the same recipients across 2023 and 2024, including universities and museum partners, which suggests recurring relationships rather than isolated grants. The foundation is a regular funder and funds individuals as well as institutions. Its active programs include both unsolicited and non-unsolicited opportunities, depending on the program line, with conservation grants and history of art grants accepting unsolicited applications while several fellowship programs are hosted through institutions.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$3.3M
Total Assets
$81.6M
Total Revenue
$2.3M
Total Expenses
$4.7M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $6K and $30K, with a median of $17K.
25th Percentile
$6K
Median
$17K
75th Percentile
$30K
Geographic Reach
National31 states funded
About 42% of grants go to recipients in NY.
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Where Samuel H Kress Foundation Funds
Top 7 recipient countries by grant volume for Samuel H Kress Foundation.
| Rank | Country | Grants | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United StatesDomestic | 230 | $5.7M | 84.9% |
| 2 | Italy | 13 | $271K |
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